أستاذ شبار‏ة

Litoria brevipalmata – the endangered Green Thighed Frog – calling.

Last night, I went on an expedition with the expert frogger Clay (check his flickr here) and the photographer/videographer extraordinare, Nicolas (check his website here and flickr here). The heavy rain over the past 2 days made the bush a paradise for amphibians of all varieties. The tone for the night was set when we approached our first destination. Clay abruptly pulled over his car and leaped out onto the road, rescuing a large green frog from the oncoming traffic.

These big guys were everywhere, fearlessly croaking their readiness for action…

The rain had eased to a light drizzle, but the cacophony from the frogs was deafening. In the first 10 minutes of a walk down a partly flooded track, our expert guide had found no less than 5 different frog species. After a short, amphibian-rich stroll, we moved on to another location. It was noticeably quieter, and it looked for a while like we might go home empty handed.

A Litoria gracilenta – this one was a natural model.

Nic and I were strolling back along the path when Clay, who’d rushed off ahead, called us into the bushes to the side of the track. We tramped through the undergrowth and found Clay, who’d spotted the Red Eyed Frog (above) and was carefully tracking the call of the endangered Green Thighed Frog, pictured at the top (for a different angle, check out this shot). We managed to spot it, sitting on a low branch in the undergrowth, and it continued its intense, undulating, vibrating call while we took some snaps.

It’s easy to look at the negatives – it was wet, mosquito-ridden and wasn’t a walk in the park – but it’s being able to get amongst nature and see these animals in their element that makes the effort worth it. So, thanks Clay, for inviting me along, and thanks Nic, for the lend of your 50mm macro – boy, was it sharp!

A dwarf tree frog, Litoria fallax, perched on a reed. This individual was about 2.5cm long. Click to view big on black.

If you like these shots, feel free to check out some of my other photo posts by clicking here!